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Future Returns: Investing in the Global Luxury Industry

The global luxury industry has had a good run over much of the past decade and signs are pointing to continued strength despite a difficult stretch during the pandemic.

S&P’s Global Luxury Index has beaten the MSCI All Country World Index over the past five years by about 4.3%. It’s been a hotbed for M&A activity, including LVMH’s recent US$15.8 billion acquisition of Tiffany & Co. The sector has proven popular with investors from individuals through to private equity—a pre-pandemic Deloitte survey found 70% of respondents, most of whom were small-medium private equity funds were considering investing in a fashion and luxury asset.

Jessica Gerberi says structural growth themes in the industry have turned luxury stocks from a cyclical to secular growth opportunity.

Gerberi, a senior research analyst with Calamos Investments in Naperville, Ill., was positive on the industry before the pandemic, partly based on the resilience of luxury goods companies, some a century or two old. “Their resilience was just tested in such an unprecedented way with Covid, and Covid’s really been an accelerant for positive change in this industry,” she says.

Bain & Co. finds despite a contraction in the overall global luxury industry due to the pandemic, global online luxury sales grew almost 50%, to about US$59 billion, in 2020, compared to about US$39.7 the prior year. This sales channel is forecast to grow further, from an estimated 23% last year to more than 30% by 2025. Gerberi says the industry may not see a full recovery until 2022 or 2023, but the speedy adaptation to selling online undertaken by many companies offers a compelling reason to consider investing in luxury stocks.

“The strong getting stronger will likely continue to be a theme in this industry,” she says.

Besides the anticipated post-pandemic rebound, growth in emerging markets offers another compelling reason for the sector’s strength. One estimate anticipates the global middle class ballooning to 5.3 billion people by 2030, bringing about 2 billion up the economic ladder. This group is expected to splurge on luxury items, and the industry will reap the reward, particularly in China.

Due to these developments, Gerberi says in a post-Covid, normalized environment there could even be some upside to the industry’s approximate 5% annual growth rate. She shared three tips with Penta on how to invest in the global luxury industry.

Understand Different Exposures

Not all luxury stocks are equally exposed to different elements. For instance, some companies focus on a single brand while others have what Gerberi calls “natural diversification,” meaning multiple brands or that they operate in multiple categories.

“Some of these big luxury conglomerates have built their businesses upon M&A and acquiring new brands, which I think speaks to their ability to balance growing the equity and managing the heritage of their legacy brands,” she says. “But [they are] also keeping on top of current trends and being willing to take a risk on a brand that might not be fully in their wheelhouse.”

She mentions Moncler’s US$1.4 billion acquisition of Stone Island, which brought the down jacket maker together with a streetwear brand. Gerberi says these moves allow companies to tap into certain trends or companies growing at a faster rate than the overall luxury industry.

Geographical exposure comes into play as well. Much of the industry is listed in Europe rather than the U.S., for instance. And though the customer base is often considered from North American or European vantage points, luxury companies serve a diverse, global base of consumers beyond those regions. This means they’re impacted by much broader, global trends.

Embracing Digital Evolution

“Covid really accelerated the digital strategies that companies in the industry are pursuing,” Gerberi says. “And of course they came into the pandemic in varying degrees of development.” This follows other accelerations in online retail, which observers say advanced e-commerce sales and technology by several years during the pandemic.

This evolution is about more than simply having a robust e-commerce site, offering products for sale via third party or increasing the depth and breadth originally offered online. Gerberi says luxury brands have created new digital avenues to engage with their customers and build customer relationships including special sales events, setting up virtual showrooms—even biometric scanning to offer virtual beauty trials.

Investors should watch how companies have embraced this shift, as not all companies have seized the chance to innovate their digital platforms and complement their in-person shopping experiences. “That gap between the haves and have nots has widened,” Gerberi says.

China’s Growing Consumption

The growth of emerging market middle classes is a promising tailwind for luxury goods, Gerberi says. “But in the near term it likely wouldn’t be anywhere as meaningful as the continued growth of the Chinese consumer in this industry.”

In 2019, the Chinese consumer accounted for 35% of global luxury sales. That figure is estimated to rise to 50% by 2025. This may pose attractive investment opportunities in brands with less-established presences in China, offering room to expand their customer base there. Though China-based luxury brands are emerging, globally-recognised brands are expected to be the main driver of this consumption.

Gerberi expects “a good pipeline for luxury consumption” to continue, as China’s Gen Z population ages and gains more disposable income.

Factors like relatively quick economic bounce back from Covid, unemployment returning to pre-Covid levels, and a continued strong appetite for luxury goods bode well for continued sales growth. “All of those things continue to bode well for the outlook for the Chinese consumer with regards to luxury,” she says.

Reprinted by permission of Penta. Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: April 20, 2021

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“Don’t Fear A Crash”: Dr Andrew Wilson

Kanebridge News: Let’s cut straight to it – your response to the almost daily diatribe being espoused by the naysayers in regards to the national housing market, specifically Sydney, and predictions about its alleged imminent failure?

Dr Andrew Wilson: Such attention-seeking crash predictions have consistently proved to be wrong in the past, and will again prove just as wrong this time. The prospect for the preconditions for falling house prices – sharp increases in interest rates – has never been more remote.

KN: How do you view market movement in the major capitals the next 12 months?

AW: Strong growth in all capitals – Melbourne, Sydney and Perth top performers all likely higher by 10%. Price’s growth will likely decline over the year as affordability falls through higher prices with flat interest rates and low incomes growth.

KN: And the residential rental market?

AW: Lower vacancy rates and higher rents for houses compared to units generally across the board.

KN: Perennial question then – advice for those trying to get into the property market this year?

AW: Maximise your buying potential. Be prepared to compromise. Be prepared to be disappointed. Consider buying first and then selling. As always, consult a financial advisor.

KN: How important is data use in property and how can a novice best apply such sets in regards to a purchase?

AW: Reliable, real-time data provides the foundation for property decision making – enhanced by objective, rational commentary that joins the dots.

KN: What do you see as the most important data consideration(s) when assessing movement in a specific market?

AW: Local supply and demand factors, matched with the overarching macroeconomic drivers and real-time market activity measures of prices and volumes.

My Housing Market’s founder Dr Andrew Wilson.

KN: Clearance rates across the country, specifically Sydney, have recently hit record highs — how do you analyse such numbers, given this is unprecedented?

AW: The Sydney market is responding to high levels of affordability with prices – despite recent strong growth – still at the levels of four years ago. Over that period mortgage rates have fallen by over 1% and incomes have increased by over 6%, giving buyers the capacity to pay more for property. With credit restrictions and coronavirus impediments now eased – the market has clear air to catch up.

KN: Your take on why we’re a property engaged culture?

AW: High aspiration for home ownership and investment underpinned by a strong financial sector and enhanced taxation benefits.

KN: To those that might not know you – you formerly worked as a chief economist for the Domain group, Australian Property Monitors before launching  My Housing Market.

AW: Well, my background is in the science and philosophy of housing market economics — I was an academic researcher and lecturer at RMIT University before I worked my way to chief economist at Domain Group and, now, running my own offering and analytics through My Housing Market.

KN: What was the impetus to launch My Housing Market – and how does the platform differentiate itself from what else is out there?

AW: My Housing Market combines high-level, comprehensive, real-time data insights into property markets with detailed, credible and reliable expert commentary. The ‘what’ and the ‘why’.

KN: What is it about property that you’re drawn to?

AW: I have to live somewhere.

KN: Well played …

Kanebridge News uses real-time data supplied by My Housing Market.
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Five Brisbane Properties For $800,000

3/38 Oriel Road, Clayfield, QLD

Presenting immaculate style and presentation is this spacious, recently renovated townhouse.

Bringing with it a resort-style feel, the exceptional home – with 3-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, 1-garage – arrives with a spacious kitchen with stone benchtops and stainless steel appliances.

Here, the open plan living and dining areas flow through to the private entertaining alfresco area.

Elsewhere, a master bedroom is complete with an ensuite and walk-in robe. Two other bedrooms complete the residence.

The home is nearby to all Clayfield has to offer including supermarkets, dining, express buses to the CBD, schools and more. The listing is with David Sullivan (+61 447 070 595) of One Percent Property Sales. Price guide $699,995; onepercent.com.au

 

4/22 Worden Street, Morningside, QLD 

Perfectly balancing a low-maintenance lifestyle with features of a much larger property, this dual level residence brings immaculate interiors and excellent entertaining options.

Details like polished timber flooring, crisp white colour palette and plantation shutters are accompaniments to the home’s 3-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 1-garage – intelligent layout.

The ground floor sees a spacious open-plan living and dining area with a modern kitchen, that extends towards the connecting alfresco area and leads to an exclusive fully fenced grassed courtyard featuring established gardens.

The master bedroom encompasses a walk-in robe, stylish ensuite, while two additional bedrooms are fitted with built-in robes.

Minutes from Morningside train station and Cannon Hill Kmart Plaza, the home is nearby to the fashionable Oxford Street and Hawthorne Ferry Terminal.

The property is to go to auction, with listing agent Tammy Dale (+61 407 120 099) of Place Bulimba overseeing the listing. Eplace.com

 

2/54 Miskin Street, Toowong, Qld

This tri-level townhouse is in a class of its own. Sleeks lines and a superb fit-out are just part of the build as the property boasts a relaxed ambience throughout with abundant natural light and ventilation.

The indoor-outdoor layout is afforded via dual sets of French doors that open out to a private entertainer’s terrace overlooking the lush, landscaped gardens.

Further a spacious designer kitchen – featuring smart storage, capacity, stainless steel quality appliances, dishwasher, large breakfast bar.

Upstairs, the top-level offers three generous sized bedrooms, two with access to the front veranda, while the master boasts private ensuite. Additional bedrooms are serviced by a central bathroom.

Entertainment surrounds with Toowong and Indooroopilly shopping centres moments away and the residence centrally located to parks, universities, schools and transport directly to Brisbane CBD.

The listing is with Chris Gower (+61 438 882 780) of Gower Property Group; gowerpropertygroup.com.au

 

 

3 Kelly Lane, Norman Park, QLD

Very rarely do opportunities like this become available to the market. Here, the 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2 car garage freehold terrace in Norman Park is elevated on a low-maintenance block of 150sqm.

Fitted with parquet flooring, stone benchtops, in the kitchen, ceiling fans throughout, open plan living areas and city views.

The home is split into two levels, with the bedrooms, including the master suite – complete with ensuite and private balcony – residing on the upper level.

Downstairs, the living area flows out to a private courtyard, while the dining space and kitchen open towards the landscaped alfresco dining area.

The listing is for auction with Henry Hodge of Henry Hodge Real Estate (+61 0404 430 327); henryhodge.com.au

 

 

31/153 Lambert Street, Kangaroo Point, Qld

Step inside this stylish sub-penthouse with river views ideally located in the Kangaroo Point hub and experience all Brisbane’s inner-city lifestyle has to offer.

Designed with both relaxed living and entertaining firmly in mind, the 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2-car parking apartment’s open plan living areas are privy to floor-to ceiling glass opening to the outdoor balcony.

Further, the apartment boasts a full-length entertainer’s balcony overlooking the Brisbane river, a functional kitchen with stainless steel appliances connected to open plan tiled dining and living areas.

Elsewhere the main bedroom is fitted with a study nook and access to the balcony, while two other good size bedrooms round out the apartment.

The apartment also has access to a lap pool and communal entertaining area.

Minutes away from the river boardwalk and greenery of Mowbray park, the residence has access to the best restaurants, shops and entertainment in Kangaroo Point and the CBD.

The property is heading to auction with Harcourts Homeside Pattie Steele (+61 402 908 271) the listing. Homeside.harcourts.com.au

 

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Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Project Is Too Risky, Rivals Say

Elon Musk’s internet satellite venture has spawned an unlikely alliance of competitors, regulators and experts who say the billionaire is building a near-monopoly that is threatening space safety and the environment.

The Starlink project, owned by Mr. Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. or SpaceX, is authorized to send some 12,000 satellites into orbit to beam superfast internet to every corner of the Earth. It has sought permission for another 30,000.

Now, rival companies such as Viasat Inc., OneWeb Global Ltd., Hughes Network Systems and Boeing Co. are challenging Starlink’s space race in front of regulators in the U.S. and Europe. Some complain that Mr. Musk’s satellites are blocking their own devices’ signals and have physically endangered their fleets.

Mr. Musk’s endeavor is still in beta testing but it has already disrupted the industry, and even spurred the European Union to develop a rival space-based internet project to be unveiled by the end of the year.

The critics’ main argument is that Mr. Musk’s launch-first, upgrade-later principle, which made his Tesla Inc. electric car company a pioneer, gives priority to speed over quality, filling Earth’s already crowded orbit with satellites that may need fixing after they launch.

“SpaceX has a gung-ho approach to space,” said Chris McLaughlin, government affairs chief for rival OneWeb. “Every one of our satellites is like a Ford Focus—it does the same thing, it gets tested, it works—while Starlink satellites are like Teslas: They launch them and then they have to upgrade and fix them, or even replace them altogether,” Mr. McLaughlin said.

SpaceX didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Around 5% of the first batch of Starlink satellites failed, SpaceX said in 2019. They were left to gradually fall back to earth and vaporize in the process. In November 2020, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics calculated that the Starlink failure rate was nearly 3%. Mr. McDowell said Starlink has vastly improved the design of their satellites since then, and that the failure rate is currently below 1%, and on track to improve further.

Even with the constant improvement, Mr. McDowell said, Starlink will operate so many satellites that even a low failure rate would mean a relatively high threat to orbital safety because of the potential for collisions. “They clearly have been making continuous improvements…but it’s a challenging thing they are doing and it’s not clear that they will be able to manage the final constellation,” he said.

Starlink operates more than 1,300 spacecraft in Earth’s lower orbit and is adding some 120 more every month. Its fleet is now on track to top the total number of satellites that have been launched since the 1950s—around 9,000.

Orbital space is finite, and the current lack of universal regulation means companies can place satellites on a first-come, first-served basis. And Mr. Musk is on track to stake a claim for most of the free orbital real estate, largely because, unlike competitors, he owns his own rockets.

In the coming days, the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. is set to approve a request by SpaceX to modify its license and allow a greater number of satellites to orbit at a lower altitude of around 550 kilometres (a kilometre is 0.625 mile). If approved, competitor satellites would have to navigate around SpaceX’s fleet to place their own spacecraft.

Other companies operating in space have asked the FCC to impose conditions on SpaceX, including lowering its fleet’s failure rate to 1 in 1,000, and improving collision-avoidance capabilities while ensuring they don’t block the transmissions of other craft orbiting above them.

“You should have fewer satellites and make them more capable,” Mark Dankberg, Viasat founder and executive chairman, said.

On Twitter, Mr. Musk commented on Mr. Dankberg’s earlier warnings that his company posed a hazard to orbital traffic by tweeting: “Starlink ‘poses a hazard’ to Viasat’s profits, more like it.”

A spokesman for Boeing, which is also challenging Starlink at the FCC, said it is “critically important to the future of a safe and sustainable orbital environment that standards be globally consistent and enable a competitive playing field.”

In the region of space where Starlink operates, satellites orbit the earth at 18,000 miles an hour. Any collision could spread high-velocity debris that could make the orbit unusable for years.

Competitors say Starlink satellites have low maneuverability, meaning that other firms’ craft have to act when collisions threaten.

Starlink satellites have come alarmingly close to other spacecraft twice in the last two years, including on April 2, when a Starlink satellite prompted another operated by OneWeb, controlled by Indian conglomerate Bharti Global and the U.K. government, to make evasive maneuvers, according to OneWeb and the U.S. Space Command.

Mr. Musk’s satellites are equipped with an AI-powered, automated collision avoidance system. Yet that system had to be switched off when a Starlink satellite came within 190 feet of the rival’s satellite this month, according to OneWeb’s Mr. McLaughlin.

When contacted by OneWeb, Starlink’s engineers said they couldn’t do anything to avoid a collision and switched off the collision avoidance system so OneWeb could maneuver around the Starlink satellite without interference, according to Mr. McLaughlin.

Starlink hasn’t revealed details about their AI collision avoidance system. Mr. McDowell, the astrophysicist, said it was hard to take any such system seriously when it remains unclear what data it uses to operate.

A similar incident took place in late 2019, when a Starlink satellite was on a near-collision course with an EU weather satellite, according to the European Space Agency, which runs EU satellites. The agency said it was only able to contact Starlink via email and the company told it they would take no action, so EU engineers had to initiate a collision avoidance maneuver.

SpaceX didn’t reply to requests for comment about the two incidents

Lower earth orbit is getting crowded with broadband satellite constellations: Amazon.com Inc.’s Project Kuiper aims to put out 3,200 satellites, Britain’s OneWeb about 700 and Telesat of Canada around 300. Russia and China are working on their own, potentially massive, constellations.

An EU official said that owning a constellation that can beam broadband internet to Earth is a strategic priority for the bloc. It is expected to publish a road map for a public-private partnership to create a broadband satellite fleet worth around €6 billion, equivalent to $7.19 billion, by the end of the year.

Space-safety experts say the number of projects means more regulation is needed to avoid potential catastrophes.

“It’s a race to the bottom in terms of getting as much stuff up there as possible to claim orbital real estate,” said Moriba Jah, associate professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. “Musk is just doing what’s legal…but legal is not necessarily safe or sustainable.”

Nevertheless, most governments welcome the onset of satellite-beamed broadband as a cheaper and faster alternative to building broadband networks. In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, the leading telecom provider Deutsche Telekom recently signalled a willingness to join with Starlink.

“I’m a great admirer of Elon Musk and his ideas,” Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Timotheus Höttges said in January.

 

Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: April 19, 2021

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Robust Demand Pushes U.K. Home Prices to All-Time Highs

Homes hitting the market in the U.K. are more expensive than ever, with prices propelled by a flood of zealous buyers, tax breaks and low mortgage rates, according to a report Monday from Rightmove.

From March 7-April 10, asking prices for newly listed homes jumped 2.1% from the roughly four weeks prior, equating to an increase of £6,733 (A$12,096) that pushed the average national asking price to an all-time high of £327,797 (A$588,909), the online property portal said.

“This is only the second time over the past five years that prices have increased by over 2% in a month, so it’s a big jump, especially bearing in mind that the lockdown restrictions are still limiting the population’s movements and activities,” Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said in the report.

In England, lockdown measures eased last week, and the government has said it hopes to lift almost all restrictions by the tail-end of June if strict conditions are met. Individual timelines are in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The property market has remained fully open and operating throughout wider limitations, “and is fully active to such an extent that frenzied buyer activity has helped to push the average price of property coming to market to an all-time high,” Mr. Bannister said.

“The stars have aligned for this spring price surge, with buyers’ new space requirements being part of the constellation alongside cheap mortgages, stamp duty holiday extensions in England and Wales, government support for 95% mortgages and a shortage of suitable property to buy,” he added, noting that the coronavirus vaccination rollout is also injecting growing optimism into the market.

In March, the government announced that it would prolong the stamp duty holiday. Introduced last July, the tax break scrapped the transfer tax on the first £500,000 of a home sale, for a maximum savings of £15,000.

Originally set to expire at the end of March, the initiative has been fully extended until the end of June and will taper off by the end September.

But as those economic support measures begin to come to a close later in the year, “some of the froth is likely to come off this spring surge,” though activity is expected to remain robust for the remainder of the year, the report said.

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These High-Tech Garden Tools Will Do Your Yard Work for You

Whenever the weather permits, Britt Wood drinks his morning coffee on his patio, proudly watching his little guy mow his lawn. No, he doesn’t have a particularly diligent son. Mr. Wood, the CEO of the National Association of Landscape Professionals, recently purchased an autonomous robot that drives around his South Riding, Va., yard, quietly munching each blade of grass down to the ideal 2½-inch height.

“It makes life a little easier,” said Mr. Wood of the convenient, “pet-like” robot. “Once you get one of these, your lawn never looks better.”

If 2020 was the year that many grew dependent on their backyards as a safe outdoor refuge, then 2021 might be the year they figure out how to spend less time maintaining their go-to retreats. One appealing solution: Upgrade the way you nurture your corner of nature with techy new tools—from robots that cut down weeds to sprinkler systems that rejig their run time depending on impending weather.

Anything that lets Americans enjoy more stress-free hours outside is good news: 27% of homeowners overhauled their gardens in 2020 and 19% plan to tackle an outdoor improvement project in 2021, according to a December 2020 survey by tool manufacturer Craftsman.

Here, our guide to the gear that might leave your neighbours wondering how you’ve gotten your garden so trim and tidy.

Lawn Labourers

Set an autonomous electric mower like Husqvarna’s Automower to run overnight and you can sleep later the next day—and achieve a cleaner, greener cut than most push models can deliver. By giving grass a regular (even daily) trim instead of lobbing off a lot once weekly, robo mowers leave small clippings the soil can more easily reabsorb, said Frank Mariani, the owner of Mariani Landscaping in Lake Bluff, Ill. An app controls the mower’s schedule, sets trimming height and, once you install the included boundary wires around your property, pings you if the robot leaves your yard in the arms of a jealous thief. Depending on the model, the mowers can chug away for up to four hours per charge, and, like Roombas, drive themselves back to their doghouse-like charging stations to juice back up. With their sensors, robo mowers are also safer than most manual counterparts. “You could practically lay your baby in front of the mower and nothing would happen,” Mr. Mariani said. When choosing a mower, consider the square footage and incline of your yard. Many less-expensive, lower-powered models freeze up on hills to prevent toppling. And be warned: an automower won’t give your lawn stripes of just-mowed green. (From $1699, husqvarna.com)

Wise Waterers

Water your grass too little, and it will shrivel into straw. Too often, and you’ll weaken the roots while encouraging mould and bacteria to grow. “That’s where smart irrigation comes in,” said Mr. Wood, who explained that smart weather-and-moisture-sensing systems outperform traditional irrigation setups—and waste less water—when it comes to keeping your garden hydrated. The Rachio 3 smart irrigation system controller, for example, automatically adjusts your watering schedule to coming weather patterns in your area. Just replace your old sprinkler controller with Rachio’s using the wires from your existing setup, and use the companion app to set a watering schedule for your system’s eight or 16 zones (from approx. $300, rachio.com). For the most strategic watering schedule possible, pair the Rachio with Weatherflow’s new Tempest Weather System. Once you install the water bottle-sized personal weather station on a post or pole 6 feet off the ground, the device will provide a forecast via its companion app that beats the local news for accuracy. The Tempest app will even alert you to garden-wrecking weather events like frost and high winds. (approx. $420, weatherflow.com).

To avoid making the same deadly watering mistakes in your potted plants and container gardens, stick Ecowitt’s unobtrusive Soil Moisture Sensor with Digital LCD Display into the soil. The device measures root wetness to tell you via a delightful potted plant graphic on the display when it’s time to water ($40, www.ecowitt.com). Alternatively, opt for a pot that does the measuring for you. Just fill the Self-Watering Wet Pot’s outer glass reservoir with water, and your finicky forsythia will absorb only what it needs through the inner, terra-cotta pot walls (from around $44, store.moma.org).

Hedge Hairstylists

Heavy, roaring, gas-powered trimmers can seem more than mildly threatening. But new, electric variants are tame enough to let anyone become a serene topiary artist. “The [battery] tech is finally to a point where it really makes sense to use it,” said Mr. Wood of the quiet, cordless models that have recently hit the market. At only 5 pounds, Craftsman’s new V20 Cordless 2-In-1 Hedge Trimmer and Grass Shear Kit is lightweight enough to let you one-handedly hack at unruly bushes and overgrown flower beds ($80, lowes.com). Komok’s Cordless Electric Pruning Shears, meanwhile, use a carbon-steel blade and brushless motor to deftly cut through branches up to 1.2 inches thick ($296, amazon.com). The best part? Your neighbours won’t want to turn the hose on you for disturbing the peace all afternoon.

Weed Cutters

Sure, you could crouch in the dirt pulling weeds out by the root. Or, you could sic the turtle-like Tertill Garden Weeding Robot on them. Every day, the Tertill roams your plant beds, chopping the tops off emerging weeds before they suffocate your dahlias. With a rugged, weatherproof shell and top-mounted solar panel to power the device, it can stay in your garden all season long. Just remember to cage your seedlings. (approx. $450, tertill.com)

Flight Tracker

Feel like you take wildlife for granted? Try the Bird Buddy smart feeder to acquaint yourself with your local flying families. Using AI, an integrated camera and a companion phone app, the device counts up the variety of species who have come to nosh. “It’s like Pokémon Go for birds,” said co-founder Franci Zidar of the way the app turns attracting avian visitors into a game. Just add bird seed. (approx. $245, mybirdbuddy.com)

POSTAL ROOTS

Subscription services that deliver seeds, moss and more to your door

Moss of the Month

For forest-y vibes in a shady corner of your backyard or a shot of color in an austere rock garden, moss does nicely. Monthly deliveries from the forests of Arkansas give you the chance to decorate with spiky haircap, plush pillow and delicate fern mosses. (around $62 for three months, teresasplants.com)

My Garden Box

Gardening is about more than just the green stuff that comes out of the dirt. While it certainly delivers live plants, like Japanese painted ferns and Crotons, this subscription plan often includes interesting containers, soil and fertilizer, tools and accessories. (approx. $50 a month, mygardenbox.com)

Gardenuity

This quarterly box from container-gardening experts based in Dallas delivers healthy, rooted herbs and flowers, selected for your region and growing conditions. You’ll also get access to Gardenuity’s Grow Pro service, with on-call expert advice and weather alerts. (approx. 193, gardenuity.com)

Bloomin Bin

While most garden plans focus on spring and summer plots, Bloomin Bin gives you year-round, season-specific seeds and saplings in a quarterly box. Each one comes with detailed care instructions from a master gardener, and a choice of flowers or fruits/vegetables. (From $10, bloominbin.com)

Seed Bank Box

Each month, subscribers receive eight to 10 varieties of organic seeds of unusual herbs, edible flowers and vegetables along with info cards. The April box includes seeds for Thai Pink Egg Tomatoes, Carentan Leeks, and Red Fire Orach. (around $28 a month, seedbankbox.com)

—Matthew Kronsberg

BACK TO BASICS

Professional green thumbs on no-tech, time-honoured paths to perfecting your plot

Edwina von Gal

Landscape Designer, founder of the Perfect Earth Project

If you’re willing to mow higher and let your lawn look more relaxed and thicker, the grass will naturally out-compete weeds. We say that you grow to 4 inches, then cut to 3 inches. It should look tousled—like you want to flop into it.

Patricia Algara

Founding Principal of BASE Landscape Architecture

Any space, no matter the size, can be a bee-friendly, pollinator garden. Even on your balcony, a pot of flowers (bees love blue and purple) can provide them with food. Leave fresh water with stones or marbles so bees can drink without drowning.

Beronda Montgomery

Author of Lessons from Plants

Grow plants of the same height together, like purple coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, or companion plants that require different, complementary nutrients. These types of pairings are beneficial because they limit biological competition for access to light or nutrients.

Dan Bifano

Master Rosarian

You don’t want to put roses where they don’t want to grow. As in real estate, it’s location, location, location. Planting in good, sandy, loamy soil that drains well (but not too well), in a sunny location with good air circulation is going to give you an exceptional rose garden.

Julie Hess

Senior Horticulturist, Missouri Botanical Garden

One of the best things you can do if your area has clay soil, besides add compost, is to add calcined clay-like Turface MVP. As counterintuitive as it sounds, it’ll even out moisture retention, improve drainage and reduce compaction.

–M. K.

Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: April 16, 2021.

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Home Auction Markets Re-Focus

The weekend produced strong home auction results for sellers across the country with all capitals recording auction clearance rates well above 80% on Saturday, April 17, with the exception of Melbourne at 79.7%.

The number of listings nationally followed on from last week’s strong outing and was well ahead of last year’s auctions over the same Saturday.

The Sydney market rebounded reporting a rate of 86.2%, well above the 82.4% recorded the previous weekend and significantly higher than the COVID impacted 35.2% recorded over the same weekend last year. Despite the results, the weekend’s figure was lower than the 90.1% monthly average.

Saturday auction numbers in Sydney were strong with 785 homes listed for sale, above the 692 listed over the same Saturday last year.

Sydney recorded a median price for houses sold at auction on the weekend of $1,560,000 which was 1.0% higher than the $1,550,000 reported over the previous Saturday.

Melbourne reported a weekend clearance rate of 79.7%, which was just above the season-low of 79.1%, but well above the 28.7% COVID-related result of the same weekend last year.

1062 homes were reported listed for auction on Saturday which was well above the 905 auctioned over the previous weekend and higher than the 834 auctioned over the same Saturday last year.

Melbourne recorded a median price of $999,900 for houses sold at auction on the weekend which was 5.7% higher than the $945,750 recorded over the previous weekend.

Data powered by Dr Andrew Wilson of MyHousingMarket.com.au

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Prestige Property: 2 Frying Pan Track, Noosa North Shore, QLD

Set in the idylls of Noosa North Shore comes this heavenly designer residence known as Eden.

It wears the name well with the 1049sqm, 4-bedroom, 3-bedroom, 7-car garaging home set on 1.61 hectares amongst the trees and botanical-like native gardens on one of the largest waterfront reserve parcels on the Noosa North Shore.

The façade boasts modernist, geometric lines, combined with a palette of strategically placed hanging gardens, natural stone, timber, glass – with the water’s edge merely an extension of the front garden.

From the portico and atrium entrance, generosity is the word that comes to mind. Inside, elevated finishes of marble flooring decorate while light pours through the home via walls of glass offering panoramic water and garden views.

Inside, the major living spaces seamlessly open out on three sides to terraces, sun decks, a gazebo and a pool with Balinese volcanic rock tiles.

The ideal entertainer, the kitchen sees an oversized butler’s pantry with a marble-topped island breakfast bar and Miele dishwasher and ovens, a double-height wine fridge, and banks of storage.

The home is split into what can be best described as suites. The ground floor sees a guest suite with sitting room, ensuite and walk-in-robe. Elsewhere, upstairs has a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom master retreat complete with its own living area – again, complete with water views.

Separate is the north wing. Here one finds the king master suite with wide views of the Noosa River mouth and Noosa Heads. The suite is complete with its own private balcony, freestanding bathtub (part of the open bathroom) walk-in robe, dressing room and dedicated office area.

Only 5-minutes by boat across the river to Noosaville’s Gympie Terrace, and a little further on is vibrant Noosa Heads and its restaurants and shopping.

The listing is with Tom Offermann Real Estate’s Nic Hunter (+61 421 785 512). Price guide: $7 million; offermann.com.au

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Oracle’s Larry Ellison Buys Palm Beach Mansion

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has purchased a North Palm Beach mansion from hedge-fund manager Gabe Hoffman, the founder of Accipiter Capital Management, for $80 million, according to two people familiar with the deal. The property sold for just above its $100 million asking price.

Mr. Ellison could not immediately be reached for comment.

The oceanfront compound has over 158-metres of ocean frontage in the ultra-pricey Seminole Landing neighbourhood, according to the listing. Seminole is a gated community with 24-hour security.

The estate is one of the priciest ever to have traded in Florida. PHOTO: DOUGLAS ELLIMAN

The 1440-sqmTuscan-style property has seven bedrooms, a home theatre and a wine room. It also includes a tennis court and is one of a handful of properties in Florida where someone could land and take off in a helicopter from the estate, according to the listing.

The property sold for slightly above its asking price. PHOTO: DOUGLAS ELLIMAN

Mr. Hoffman bought the main parcel in 2012 for US$17.5 million and put the house on the market in June 2020, records show. He was not immediately available for comment.

Chris Leavitt and Ashley McIntosh of Douglas Elliman represented Mr. Hoffman. Tonja Garamella of Douglas Elliman represented Mr. Ellison. Both sets of agents declined to comment.
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Electric-Vehicle Startup XPeng Bets On Tech That Tesla Rejects

GUANGZHOU—Once a Tesla Inc. fan who owned four of its vehicles, He Xiaopeng, co-founder of Chinese electric-vehicle startup XPeng Inc., now wants to overtake the car company that originally inspired him.

While acknowledging Tesla as an inspiration, Mr. He said XPeng—one of three Chinese EV companies listed in the U.S.—can win using innovation, an area in which Chinese technology companies have become increasingly formidable.

“We have a saying in China,” Mr. He said in an interview Wednesday at XPeng’s headquarters in the southern city of Guangzhou. “To defeat someone, you need to do something different.”

XPeng, alongside its U.S.-listed peers Li Auto Inc. and Nio Inc., has taken investors on a wild ride over the past eight months.

The company’s August listing on the New York Stock Exchange valued it at US$8 billion. By November its value had jumped to nearly $58 billion. Now it is back down to about US$27 billion. In March, the Shanghai-based research firm Hurun Report said Mr. He was worth US$11 billion.

XPeng unveiled its third production vehicle, the P5 sedan, in Guangzhou on Wednesday. Deliveries of the P5, which is said to have approx. 600km driving range, are due to start this year. The company didn’t announce the car’s price, though it will be lower than the in-production P7 sedan, which starts at roughly $60,000 and is a direct competitor of the made-in-China Tesla Model 3, which costs the equivalent of about $66,900.

XPeng began low-volume exports to Europe in December and plans to enter the U.S. market in the future.

Considered by some analysts as the most tech-centric of China’s EV players, Xpeng deploys a voice-operated user interface in its cars, and an autonomous-driving system for use on stretches of highway with 5G internet coverage.

It recently tested the software by sending a fleet of its cars on a 3540km trip from Guangzhou to Beijing, and logging 0.71 human-operator interventions per 100 km—a new benchmark for self-driving cars, the company claimed. On the roughly 320km Shanghai to Nanjing leg attended by the Journal, the car’s human operator intervened once, swerving when the car failed to notice a bus changing lanes ahead.

XPeng claims its autonomous-driving systems, which have previously used radar and cameras, will be significantly enhanced by the addition of lidar, which uses lasers to scan the vehicle’s surroundings—and which Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has dismissed as a waste of money. Xpeng says the new P5 is the first Chinese EV that comes with lidar as standard.

XPeng sold 13,340 vehicles in the first quarter of 2021 and likely needs to sell as many cars every month to break even, said Tu Le, founder of Sino Auto Insights, a consulting firm. Mr. He said in the interview that he was focused on building revenue and growing XPeng’s reputation, rather than on profit.

Tesla sold 69,280 vehicles in China in the January-to-March period, according to the China Passenger Car Association, while Nio sold 20,060 cars.

XPeng is in a strong position as a car company whose main asset is its software, Mr. Le said. “The post-1990s generation in China are all digital natives, and they like Chinese brands,” he said. “What XPeng is doing plays very well with that young Chinese consumer.”

At a moment of rising nationalism in China, homegrown brands have generally been gaining ground on Western ones among local consumers, from clothing to cars.

Mr. He this month announced plans for a third XPeng plant in Wuhan; its second plant, in Guangzhou, is still being built. The three plants will give the company an expected production capacity of 300,000 cars a year.

XPeng last year unveiled a prototype flying car that Mr. He said was far from being a gimmick and potentially key to the company’s future. The company’s growing fleet of EVs is just a starting point for a company with ambitions to define “the future commute,” he said.

Originally a computer programmer, the 43-year-old Mr. He, who comes from the central city of Huangshi, founded UCWeb Inc., a mobile-browser developer, in 2004. He sold the company to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. a decade later in what was then China’s biggest internet merger, and worked as a senior Alibaba executive until 2017 before leaving to run XPeng, which he had co-founded as an investor in 2014.

The birth of his son in early 2017 jolted Mr. He into starting something new, he said. He settled on EVs despite having no automotive background and, by his own admission, regarding the overheated EV sector as “a crazy business.”

“I wanted my son to think that he had a cool dad,” he said.

Unable to persuade Alibaba to let him develop an EV in-house, Mr. He joined XPeng as full-time chief executive and brought the e-commerce giant on board as an investor. Alibaba owns 12.5% of the company, while Mr. He holds 22.7%. Alibaba didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. He said he only fully realized the difficulty of teaming software engineers with car mechanics when the company produced its first working prototype in late 2017.

The XPeng team was moved to tears when the vehicle rolled out: Engineers wept with joy because the machine worked, while the software developers were heartbroken because to them the unpainted and incomplete test-model “looked like trash,” Mr. He said.

The experience taught Mr. He and his software colleagues that developing a competitive car would be an arduous, years-long process.

Mr. He said his priority was to build XPeng into a global company rather than to outflank Tesla or other competitors, but there is open enmity between Mr. He and the company that once inspired him.

In 2019, Tesla filed a lawsuit against a former employee who had quit Tesla to join XPeng, alleging that he had downloaded its Autopilot source code with a view to handing it over to his new employer. XPeng was never a party to the legal case and said it is “confident we have engaged in no wrongdoing.”

In November, Mr. Musk trashed XPeng’s autonomous-driving system, saying on Twitter that “they have an old version of our software” and alleging that intellectual-property theft “was just an XPeng problem. Other companies in China have not done this.”

Mr. He fired back on Weibo. “It seems XPeng’s next-generation autonomous driving architecture…has made someone in the West feel very upset,” he said.

“Elon Musk is an amazing person and a great entrepreneur, despite some flaws,” Mr. He said in the Wednesday interview. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: April 15, 2021.